


In Time

by Jadesfire



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-29
Updated: 2010-03-29
Packaged: 2017-10-08 10:02:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/75534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jadesfire/pseuds/Jadesfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The waiting's over.  Time to go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Time

"Are you ready?"

"You in a rush?"

"Not particularly." The Doctor sucked in a long breath, looking around at their surroundings again. "But you know, places to go, people to see."

"Trouble to start."

"Hey!" But he didn't deny it, just grinned. "At least I finish it too."

"Fair point." It was quiet out here, quite the contrast to the bustle at the centre of the city. Jack had learned to appreciate both. "Where are we going?"

"Wherever you want."

"You make it sound like I've got a list."

"You mean you don't?" Glancing across, the Doctor raised an eyebrow. "You called me, remember?" He paused, watching Jack for a moment before going on, "Why did you call me?"

"You improve the scenery."

"Jack."

The tone was the same, even the slight sing-song intonation, that made Jack feel like the Doctor already knew all the answers, and was only asking for Jack's benefit.

Jack shrugged. "Maybe it's just time. The slow path gets really slow after five hundred years."

"It's been that long? I thought-" The Doctor broke off, frowning. "It's not been that long for me. And I saw you, what, months ago?"

"A hundred and twelve years, four months, seventeen days." It was oddly satisfying, seeing the surprise on the Doctor's face. "I might not be able to master temporal mechanics in an afternoon, but I can still count."

Closing his mouth, the Doctor looked away again, out over the river. "I didn't know it was that long," he muttered, apparently to the seagulls.

"It's alright."

They stood in silence for a long time, watching the water ripple under the cloudy sky. Jack had been tied to this place, to this world, for five hundred and eighty four years, long enough to gain more than a little perspective. Of course, he'd spent nearly a hundred and forty waiting, watching and wondering, burying churning resentment under sheer bloody mindedness and a healthy dollop of denial.

It seemed a long time ago, now.

Smiling wryly, he turned, leaning his hip against the railing. The Doctor's hair had been blown into crazy styles by the wind and his cheeks were reddened from the cold. Gently, Jack said, "I didn't think you'd come."

A pained look crossed the other man's face. "I always come when you call, don't I?"

"Yes."

"There you are then."

"But you knew it wasn't an emergency, no big disasters. And you came anyway."

"I always come," the Doctor repeated, shifting a little, still gazing out over the water. "But I don't know-" He broke off, looking down then up again. "Why now?"

"Why not?" Jack shook his head. "It's just the right time, that's all. No ulterior motives."

"First time for everything."

Laughing a little, Jack rolled his eyes. "No more than usual, then. Last time you were here-"

"Was that really over a hundred years ago? The place doesn't seem to have changed that much. I mean, you guys have got hover cars now, but apart from that, it doesn't seem that different."

"Last time you were here," Jack continued, a little more forcefully than before, "you were on your own."

A rueful smile crossed the Doctor's face. "I'm always on my own, Jack. You know that. Even if you come with me. Something will happen, something will change, you'll want to move on, or have to. You'll meet the right person, find the right cause, the right planet. You're a hero, you can't help yourself."

"And you?"

"I'm a traveller. Can't help that, either."

"That's fair." Turning again, Jack folded his arms and leaned against the railing, close enough to the Doctor that their shoulders touched. "But you know what? I learned something in nearly six hundred linear years."

"What's that?"

"One day at a time."

The Doctor didn't speak for a long moment and Jack just waited, watching the water try to sparkle under the muted sunlight and feeling the breeze pull at his hair. Waiting was something he'd taught himself, slowly and painfully over the centuries. He doubted the Doctor had ever stayed still long enough to learn.

Looking over, he saw the beginnings of a smile on the Doctor's face, and he watched as it blossomed into a full blown grin.

"That works." Stretching, the Doctor stood upright and lifted his face to the sky. "So, we off then?"

"I guess so." It wasn't as though he couldn't come back when he wanted, after all. Falling into step beside the Doctor, Jack took a last look around the city. "What's our first stop?"

"You don't have a preference?"

"Well, if you're really asking," Jack said, "there's this little bar just on the Trellian rim that was doing these amazing cocktails, right at the end of the forty third century."

"Wine, women and song?"

Unapologetic, Jack shrugged. "Unless you have a better idea."

They were almost at the TARDIS, the Doctor fishing in his pocket for his key. "You know," he said, smiling more to himself than Jack, "for once, I don't think I do."

**Author's Note:**

> From a prompt by Becky_H: _The calm of a satisfied soul_


End file.
